1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to an electrical connector for use with a stranded wire.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical connectors have been developed for connecting wires to a variety of devices. It is generally desirable to have a quick, effective means for connecting wires to a variety of electrical devices without having to strip the insulation from the wire prior to termination.
An insulation displacement contacts (IDC) type connector is one type of electrical connector that obviates the need to pre-strip the insulation. In an IDC connector, an insulated wire is forced into a grove in the connector. The groove cuts through the insulation and contacts the underlying conductor, thus establishing an electrical connection. IDC connectors are best suited for use with wires having solid core conductors.
Stranded conductor wires, on the other hand, are not effectively terminated using an IDC connector. The individual strands may be cut or broken during the insertion process. The use of small gauge wires with high strand counts exacerbates the problem.
Another shortcoming of IDC connectors is that they are not reusable. If a wire is removed from an IDC connector, the portion previously terminated in the IDC connector must be removed before the wire can be re-terminated.
Most conductive materials, over time, develop oxide layers, film layers, or the like that degrade their ability to contact another conductor to maintain an electrical connection. It has been found that if two conductors are constantly forced together with some amount of residual force, the electrical connection between the two conductors is enhanced. For example, cantilevered contacts are typically spring loaded contacts that are held in contact with interfacing strip contacts by a compressive spring force. The spring nature of the cantilever contact provides the residual force between the two contacts necessary to maintain an effective electrical connection. In an IDC connector, the conductor of the wire is forced into an interference fit with the IDC connector.
The present invention is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.